618 
EXTRAORDINARY SNAKE. 
the place, who is seldom ready with his money; and even double 
the sum is expended by the richer inhabitants, in bribes to the 
feroshes, or public servants sent out to collect the horses, to 
spare their finer studs, and take up instead the poor laborious 
beasts of the lower orders. The morning proved delightful, and 
the surrounding view, brightened in verdure by the late rain, 
was rendered doubly lovely from the delicious temperature of 
the atmosphere through which we saw it. Indeed, this is the 
season of most enjoyment, both at Tabreez and in these luxu¬ 
riant tracts north of the Aras, the autumnal months being 
those of October, November, and December. Our way lay in 
the same direction as yesterday, about N. 25° W., continuing 
along the plain. In passing the fine village of Sadarak, (which 
stood close under the hills to our right, at three farsangs distance 
from our late menzil,) we came up with two men in the act of 
killing a snake. As it appeared very large for this part of Persia, 
I stopped to examine it; measuring it, I found the length forty 
inches, and the thickness of the body that of a musket barrel; 
its colour green with black stripes. I observed about the middle 
of its belly part, a prodigious sort of swelling, which, on being 
gradually pressed beneath it, moved upwards, and so continued, 
till, on approaching the throat, which in circumference was not 
more than my finger, that membrane stretched with ease, and 
we forced from it a full-sized partridge; the head only had 
suffered any loss, the reptile having certainly swallowed the bird 
whole. Its feathers were all covered with a slimy fluid ; and 
thus we had a miniature process of the boa-constrictor and its 
buffalo. The snake had been discovered by the peasants coiled 
up asleep, beneath a low bush ; and, doubtless, would have re¬ 
mained so till nature had silently digested the unfortunate bird. 
